The mortals kept their word. Days, perhaps weeks have passed, though time flowed strangely in Aetherion.
At the heart of the black valley where Tiamat had first awoken, smoke now rose not from fire, but from incense. The five wanderers had returned with others: farmers, refugees, a few warriors. A handful of souls who believed that a god had heard their prayers.
They brought stone and silver dust, carved from the nearby cliffs, and began building what they called the Shrine of the First Flame.
Tiamat watched from above, perched on a high ridge. His immense form shimmered faintly in the twin suns' twilight, but his wings were folded close, his presence muted. He could sense their faith through the System, a faint warmth, like a heartbeat deep in his chest.
[Faith Resonance: +27]
Worshipers: 32Shrine Construction Detected.Local Divine Node forming...
Effect: Faith flow increased by 15% in region.Warning a localized distortion of Aether detected.
"So even a simple shrine changes the world…" His voice was low, thoughtful.
He could see the energy around the structure and the threads of glowing essence rising into the sky like smoke, feeding the forming node above it. The mortals below glowed faintly in his divine sight; their faith gave them vitality, endurance, even courage.
For them, it was worship. For him, it was fuel. And for the world, it was a signal.
----------------------
Far away, in a floating ruin that drifted among the clouds, a figure of light stirred. She was tall and crowned with golden shards of glass that hovered like a halo. Her body was ethereal, transparent, not alive, but not dead.
A Fragment of Aureal, one of the slumbering god's many echoes.
She opened her eyes, their glow dimmed by time.
"A domain has awakened… Creation and Destruction entwined?"She frowned. "Impossible. That spark was sealed eons ago."
She turned to the shattered mirrors that lined the ruin's walls. They rippled, showing visions of a dragon, black and blue, bending the wind to his will, mortals kneeling beneath him.
"A mortal?" she whispered. "No… something else."
Her voice hardened.
"If another rises, the Cycle will break again."
The mirrors cracked, their reflections scattering into shards of light that streaked across the skies as messengers to other remnants. The gods, even in their dreams, would soon know.
--------------------
Meanwhile, back in the valley, the mortals had finished their work.
The shrine stood small by divine standards it was just an altar of polished obsidian engraved with draconic symbols, and a brazier burning with blue flame that never consumed its fuel. Yet to the people, it was a beacon.
The woman who had first prayed to him, her name was Lyra, he had learned recently as she knelt before the altar. She then lifted her hands toward the sky.
"O Lord of Flame, who brings light to darkness,Hear us and guide us,As we build your first home upon this sleeping world."
Tiamat felt the surge instantly.
[Faith Surge Detected]
Faith Energy +420 (Major Event)Divine Core – Level 1 → Level 2New Ability Unlocked: Manifestation (Partial Form)
His body trembled as the Divine Core ignited again. Heat spread through his veins, and for the first time since his awakening, he felt control and the ability to shape his power, to compress it.
A swirl of light and flame descended from his massive form. In its place, standing before the shrine, appeared a man who was tall, pale-skinned, with faint traces of scales across his arms and neck. His eyes burned with draconic light, and his hair glowed faintly blue at the tips.
Gasps rose from the worshipers.
"Our god… takes form!"
Tiamat looked down at his hands they were human, yet divine. The power thrummed beneath his skin like caged lightning.
"So this is manifestation," he murmured. "Half-dragon, half-god… half of what I was."
Lyra bowed low before him. "My Lord, we are honoured. Your coming has brought life to this land again. The crops grow faster. The beasts no longer attack."
"That is the effect of faith," Tiamat said softly. "Not mine its yours."
He meant it. The more they believed, the stronger their own world became. That realization humbled him. But even as he spoke, the System pulsed again it was colder this time.
[System Alert]
Unauthorized Divine Manifestation Detected.Entity of conflicting domain approaching.Warning: Divine Trial Imminent.
Tiamat's eyes snapped skyward.
The clouds above the valley began to twist unnaturally. The air turned sharp, tasting of ozone and old magic. His human form flickered, the dragon beneath roaring for release.
"So soon?" he growled. "You can't even let me build one shrine?"
The heavens split.
A figure descended and was wrapped in smoke and light, with a blade made from crystallized lightning. Its face was hidden beneath a featureless mask, but its aura was unmistakably divine.
A Herald.
"Unauthorized god detected," it intoned, voice cold and metallic. "By order of the Divine System, you are to be tested. Fail, and your flame shall be extinguished."
Tiamat spread his wings, his body growing, shifting, returning to full draconic form. The valley trembled.
"If the gods are asleep," he thundered, "then who gave you orders?"
The Herald's mask cracked, and light spilled through the fractures.
"The System does not sleep."
The first divine battle of the New Age was about to begin.